Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by watermelonman:

This poured to a bright mix of orange and gold with a medium head that lasted well. Lace is medium.

The smell has strong malt flavor along with a good punch of hops. The taste matches that. The mix of hops is pretty good. Malts are strong but the flavor isn't as good as the hop flavors. The mouthfeel is full.

More User Reviews:

Pours a clear copper with a tight 1/2 finger white head,well really subdued aromas for an IPA the toasted grain aromas are stronger than any hop profile, caramel sweetness shows up as well only a very light herbalness shows up.A sharp,prickely mouthfeel really keeps the drinkability low not to mention the flavors are nothing to write home about.Caramelly sweet with more of leafy hop profile finishing rough and abrupt.No complexities to this beer just a rough edged lightly hopped IPA,man I have 5 more to drink I'll be giving these out to friends although that would be mean.

The big, beautiful mess of a head seems to stick all over the glass. The orange amber glow shows a hint of haze when held up to the light. Freshly shredded orange peel, ripe berry, blond tobacco and a hint of powdered aspirin are all present in the aroma. Smoothness is deep within the moderate-size body. Hops are a bit harsh with a bitterness that rakes the tongue. A little bit of an acidic twang is there as well. Its maltiness shows some sweetness with hints of raw honey and biscuit dough. Bitterness sticks to the palate even in the drying finish. Ripe berries as the warmth grows.

The bitterness seems a bit too harsh here. Sharp is pretty much the one word that comes to mind with each sip, and it eventually affects the drinkability.

My 3rd Eel River pours a clear, radiant, orange body with a frothy, two finger, offwhite head. Average retention and patchy, island chain lace.
Aroma is a hops delight. Citrusy grapefruit, orangezest, and pine cone burn the nostrils, and obliterate any hint of malt.
Mouthfeel has a great deal of carbonation, a medium body, and a resiny hops bite.
Taste is citrus rind and pine sap. Hops resins run all over the palate, unchecked. Some grassy hops, as well, but mosly pine sap and grapefruit rind. The 7% abv is lost in the hoppiness. The hops mellow just slightly as this warms, but the finish is as hops bitter as the start.
Hops lovers rejoice. This one's for you. A bit too hoppy for me.

12 ouncer, w/o freshness indication. Pours moderately cloudy orangy medium amber, under a puffy oatmeal head, that stays and stays and then leaves just a smattering of lace blobs. Nose is malty and nothing special. This one is a little light in the hops and a tad watery in the mouth feel. Still surprised by the very low scores for this offering. Reasonable, sessionable ale. Could use some more hop jolt to fit into and compete with the heavy hitter of the AIPA world.

The beer pours an orange-amber color with a white head. The aroma has some perfume-like hop notes, as well as some light orange citrus. The flavor is a nice mix of orange citrus and biscuit malt, with a hint of bitterness. There is also a little grapefruit in the flavor. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

Pours a deep amber with a nice 2 finger white head that dissappers very quickly. Has that english malt smell, with a touch of alcohol. No hops can be detected. Let me just say that I'm not a fan of english ipa's, but this one has enough going on to hide what to me is normally a poor malt choice. Very smooth drinking beer. Smoother than a SNPA. Has that wierd after-taste that all of the "organic" beers I've tried seem to have? The label says 7.2%, but I am really doubting that. I would reccomend this beer as a starter to a session since it's just all-around mild and not very flavorfull in any aspect.

Flavor is less citrusy than the nose implies. Some sweet hops and grainy sugary sweetness upfront, bordering on syrupy. Morphs to piney bitter, some grapefruit rind and finishes with a peppery bite that lingers.

Rich and full mouthfeel, pretty satisying. Slightly above average drinkability, but not earthshaking.

Pours way dark for your average IPA. Smells a little more citrusy than the appearance.

Taste is where this excels, another one of those IPA's that delivers heavy on the malt and the hops, could be a midwest/east coast imperial IPA or old school double. Mouthfeel, I've had this be a little inconsistent, getting a little earthy/heavier tasting midway through. Able to knock a few back, but they are strong, so watch out.

Its another ipa that doesn't bottle date, so that's probably where the inconsistency comes from.

A - Clear copper amber with 2 finger white head with good retention and good lacing.

S - Very faint aroma of pine and grassy hop, pretty wimpy.

T - The aroma is telling as this is a pretty weak and water IPA. Low on the hops and just a bit of malt and lacking complexity. I know this is organic but that is no excuse for lacking a bold flavor in an IPA. This is the chance for the home grown hops to shine.

M - Medium body, moderate carbonation, smooth, watery.

O - I would never get this again, though I appreciate the effort to go organic.

Tap@Eel River. Pretty good for an organic beer. Lychee/pine bitterness, texture is a bit milky or something, which was a bit odd. (BTW, i am asuming this is the 'Certified organic' IPA that i'm reviewing this under). A pretty pleasant IPA, nothing fancy, just failr tasty/easy going.

A: Great ambery color, golden tones as put through the light, beautiful head that doesnt last long, good lace though.S: Citric hops, herbal and floral notes as well.T: Almost too much bitterness, but combined with the floral and herbal notes, it goes down very easily.With a great dry spicy aftertaste.

Pours a cloudy coppery amber with a giant off white foamy head. The head is huge with great lacing. The smell is nice with a bread yeast scent and little else . The taste is crisp then bitter with bread yeast and some mild citrus hop flavors. The yeast and bitterness are pretty strong,but there are little else is in the flavor. The m/f is light with the mild flavors mixing OK. Not a bad beer,but organic beers are alittle weak in flavor.

Pours a straight amber with minimal head. Slight lacing. Smell is sweet caramel and bitter oily hops. Taste is not what I anticipated. Simply put, this is a very sweet malty beer, malts of maple and honey, there is a hops backbone. I am no hardcore "hophead" but this does not fit my idea of an IPA, and I don't like sweet beers--especially when I want a mouth of hops. Thumbs down.

A: amber hues are fused with golds and yellows around the edges. I poured cautiously and yet the head was incredibly eager to form. It did so in an out of control manner. To be honest, the densely foamed cream white cap was rather impressive and lasting. My glass was coated with streaks and spiderwebbing as a result. High marks for the head and lace

S: citrusy, earthy, sweet brown sugar, and toasted malts. Nothing jumps out and nothing seems out of the ordinary. Maybe a little timid?

T: pale malts remain a constant throughout and the hop flavors are somewhat fleeting. The green cones are of the citrus variety (mostly ripe grapefruit) with a lightly herbal/floral character. If anything the hops come across clean, crisp, and wounded. The caramel sweetness is nice and moves freely throughout augmenting the toasted pale and crystal malts. Has some type of funk to it, metallic based flavors? soapy flavors? not sure?

M: mild body and with a decent slickness with ample carbonation. Straight shooter in the mouthfeel. Like the nose, nothing jumps out and nothing seems out of the ordinary

D: not a bad brew, I guess. Something seemed awry with the hops, a real hop essence was not happening in this beer. I want to try the stout they offer and that is probably going to be it, I pass on this one

Straw yellow color, a little bit hazy and with the slightest red tint. Sweet and floral nose, some bananas, pine and caramel. Pretty sweet for an IPA and the malts are rather light and one dimensional. Some hop dry finish, but the aftertaste is sour. A little but fuzzy and warm, palatable but not refreshing.

Jon's bottle. Golden yellow with a white head. A good bitterness, though no aroma. The hops do not really get there, the weakness of organics. As if watered down taste, yet drinkability is fine, mouthfeel is median. A bit below average for the style.